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Huntz Hall
| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = North Hollywood, California, U.S. | other_names = | years_active = 1935–1994 | spouse = (divorced) (divorced) (his death)Florida Marriage Index | website = | occupation = Actor | children = Reverend Gary Hall & Stevie Hall }} Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920 – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, theatrical, and motion picture performer noted primarily for his roles in the "Dead End Kids" movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), which gave way to the "Bowery Boys" movie franchise, a prolific and highly successful series of comedies in the 1940s and 1950s. Life and career Hall was born in 1920 in New York CitySocial Security Death Index to Joseph Patrick Hall, an Irish immigrant engineer, and his wife Mary Ellen (Mullen).Leonard Getz in his 2006 book From Broadway to the Bowery published by McFarland & Company uses August 15 but the more authoritative Social Security Death Index uses August 18, 1920. The Independent uses August 15, 1919 and the New York Times lists his age as 78 which would make his birth year 1920. Walker and Roat's biography use 1919. As with many actors, their resumes conflict with more official documents submitted to the government. The 14th of 16 children, he was nicknamed "Huntz" because of his Teutonic-looking nose. Hall attended Catholic schools and started performing on radio at age 5. He appeared on Broadway in the 1935 production of Dead End, a play written and directed by Sidney Kingsley. Hall was then cast along with the other Dead End Kids in the 1937 film Dead End, directed by William Wyler and starring Humphrey Bogart. Hall served in the United States Army during World War II. In 1943, he appeared in the USN training film "Don't Kill your Friends" as the moronic Ensign Dilbert the Pilot who, because of his carelessness and cavalier attitude, manages to kill a civilian and three servicemen. In 1948, Hall was arrested for possession of marijuana, but his 1949 trial resulted in a hung jury. Hall later played the increasingly buffoonish Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones in 48 "Bowery Boys" films, gaining top billing when his longtime partner, Leo Gorcey, left the series in 1956. Hall and Gorcey reunited in Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar (1966) and The Phynx (1969). He also appeared in other films, including The Return of Doctor X (1939), the war film A Walk in the Sun (1945), Gentle Giant (1967), Herbie Rides Again (1974), and The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery (1975) opposite Gabriel Dell, another former Bowery Boy. In 1967, he became one of the celebrities featured on the cover of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In 1971, he co-starred along with Art Metrano, Jamie Farr and others in a sit-com on American TV, "The Chicago Teddy Bears". His plans to produce a movie series, "The Ghetto Boys" (a take on the "Bowery Boys"), fell through. In 1973, Hall took part in Princess Grace of Monaco's Council for Drug Abuse which was part of the Catholic Office of Drug Education.David Ragan. "Who's Who in Hollywood 1900-1976", Arlington House, 1976, p. 176. In 1976, he appeared alongside other Hollywood veteran stars in Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood and in 1977 he played movie mogul Jesse Lasky in Ken Russell's film Valentino. His later films included roles in Gas Pump Girls (1979) and The Escape Artist (1982), the latter of which reunited him again with Gabriel Dell. His final film appearance was in Auntie Lee's Meat Pies in 1993. He then performed in dinner theater productions before retiring in 1994. Behind Sach: The Huntz Hall Story by Jim Manago, published by BearManor Media in 2015, is the first biography of Hall. Death Hall died from congestive heart failure on January 30, 1999 at the age of 78 in North Hollywood, California. He was interred in a niche at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California. References External links * * * Category:1920 births Category:1999 deaths Category:American male stage actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male radio actors Category:American Roman Catholics Category:20th-century American male actors